Man Who Swindled Wyckoff Friend's Mother Out Of Money Learns Fate In Court

NORTH JERSEY — A man who promised to invest more than $1 million of acquaintances' money — then spent it on gambling and other personal expenses — received his sentence on Thursday, federal officials said.

Anthony Petrosino, 61, of Union City, will serve 63 months for defrauding elderly clients and others by falsely telling them he'd invest their money, said the office of U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer.

He had pleaded guilty in federal court on March 25 to a count of wire fraud.

According to the indictment in the case, after a friend of his in Wyckoff passed away in 2015, he defrauded the man's mother and daughter. Petrosino also defrauded a friend in Westwood who was a federal worker, and a relative in Hoboken, the indictment said.

Prosecutors charged that from January 2016 through November 2024, Petrosino convinced victims to transfer investment funds, mortgage payments, and other money to himself, claiming he'd invest it.

He even falsified documents to show an elderly woman that he had deposited money in investment accounts in her name, prosecutors said.

Instead, he used clients' money for gambling, credit card payments, and rent on his luxury apartment, prosecutors say.

Petrosino will also have to pay up to $1.1 million back to the victims.